Each day the air in your home is re-circulated through your home’s air duct system.
Over time dust, dander, and debris builds up in your HVAC/Air Duct System making
your furnace and air conditioner less efficient which can cost you more money to
operate.

You wouldn’t drink dirty water so why breathe dirty air? The air inside your home
can actually be more polluted than the air outside. Sears has several affordable
air cleaning systems available so you can breathe easier knowing your family is
breathing clean air.

Is it taking your clothes dryer longer and longer to dry? You may not need a new
clothes dryer or costly repair. A clogged clothes dryer vent can restrict air flow
causing your clothes dryer to be less efficient and could even cause a fire. A clean
clothes dryer vent will help your clothes dryer vent run more efficiently and reduce
energy cost.

The Carpet and Rug Institute awarded Sears the Platinum Seal of Approval, which
is the Highest Level of Performance for a Carpet Cleaning System. This deep-cleaning
process removes harmful allergens, dust particles, and other debris that settles
in the carpet.

Sears Keeps Your Carpet Cleaner Longer — Guaranteed

Sears two-step, hot water extraction process, and our specially formulated cleaning
solutions and fiber rinse are unlike most other carpet & upholstery cleaners. With
the steam cleaning process, warm/hot water is used to loosen dirt embedded deep
in the carpet fibers then it is quickly extracted with powerful vacuum equipment.
Our second step, the Fiber Rinse, insures that we have removed the most dirt and
cleaning solution (residue) from your carpet so it will be soft, fresh and stay
cleaner longer.

Sears Cleaning Customers Say...

Spring Cleaning Tips - Part 1

Spring cleaning season is upon us. The days are getting longer and all of the sunlight
pouring into your house is showing off all of your winter grime. Spring Cleaning
can be a daunting task and you may be putting it off as long as you can, but pretty
soon, you are going to buckle under the pressure. When you do, make sure you take
along Sears Carpet & Air Duct Cleaning’s Spring Cleaning Tips.

The first thing you will want to do is call Sears Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning
and set up your carpet & upholstery cleaning appointment. Set your carpet &
upholstery cleaning appointment for your target “Spring Cleaning” completion date.
This will keep you motivated to stay on schedule. You want to have all of your other
cleaning done before the Sears cleaning crew arrives.

Determine how you would like to handle your cleaning schedule. One method is to
identify how much time you have to spend on the project and divide that by the number
of areas you must conquer in that time. In example if you have 8 hours and 7 areas,
that is 480 minutes divided by 7, that gives you about an hour in each area. We
have broken this down into different rooms so you can mark your calendar to do one
section of the list below each week.

Collect all of your home cleaning supplies and place together in a tote. Include
– gloves, furniture polish, glass cleaner, multi-purpose cleaner, bath cleaner,
toilet bowl cleaner, paper/regular towels, and newspaper. Whether you choose to
do all at once or break into segments, we will save the vacuum for last so you will
not need to carry that around.

Label a box for donation and place in an accessible area.

Now you are ready to get started.

Bedrooms

Do a quick pick-up and make sure that everything is in its place. (This will avoid
distractions while deep-cleaning.) Identify any items that are no longer used that
should be placed in donation or thrown away.

Remove bed linens from the bed

Remove curtains, table covers, laundry and place inside of bed linens set outside
of the bedroom door or take them to the laundry room. Replace with freshly washed
linens. (Quick Tip – If you have washable curtains, simply wash, shake, and re-hang
damp. This will give your room a fresh aroma and avoid additional drying time in
the clothes dryer. Depending on the fabric, there shouldn’t be any wrinkles but
if there are you can always take them down another day and iron.)

Empty waste basket and make sure all cleaning supplies are placed back into your
tote.

(Repeat for each of the bedrooms in your home)

Vacuum

Make sure that your vacuum is ready to go – check bag or canister and empty if needed.

Work your way through each area. Use attachments to clean cob webs from ceilings/walls,
cold air returns, baseboards, stair steps, hard to reach crevices, cloth lamp shades,
upholstered furniture, etc.

Take the extra time to move any furniture that may have dust and debris collecting
beneath it such as tables, chairs, couches, etc.

We know that spring cleaning can be exhausting. Hopefully, Sears Spring Cleaning
tips will help you face the challenge. Check back each week for more Spring Cleaning
tips from Sears. We will cover all the rooms in your house one week at a time. Sears
Carpet, Upholstery, and Air Duct Cleaning experts look forward to providing the
following services to help with your spring cleaning - carpet, upholstery, tile
& grout, hardwood floors, clothes dryer vent, and air duct cleaning. Call today
to schedule an appointment that is convenient for you.

Posted on April 9, 2013

Dingy, Dirty Tile & Grout

There is something about an older home that emits charm and warmth. Perhaps it is
the thick woodwork or the many other handcrafted details. Unfortunately, years of
built up dirt and debris from previous owners may not be so charming. One area where
this is particularly noticeable is tiled floors. Often it isn’t even the tile, even
if the color or texture of the tile is outdated. Usually it is the porous grout
that runs between the tiles, ever-collecting dirt, grease, and grime. If you look
closely, you will see that these porous joints resemble mortar joints in between
brick. This material has many nooks and crevasses where dirt collects. It could
be from years of basic traffic, poor cleaning habits, or wrong cleaning methods.
Standard tile cleaning methods only move dirty water around on your floors, pushing
more dirt and grime deeper into the grout pores. Sears professional Tile & Grout
Cleaning technicians use high powered tile and grout cleaning brushes and vacuums
that quickly extract the dirty water from your tile and grout. Leaving your floors
as clean as possible.

However, depending on how long the floors have gone unmaintained, the grout may
be stained and a regular grout cleaning may not be enough. If you want to give your
tile floors a whole new look, don’t stop with Sears professional Tile & Grout
Cleaning, ask your Sears Technician about our Grout re-coloring service. Grout re-coloring
hides stubborn & deeply embedded stains to give your grout a beautiful new,
clean, look. In addition, grout re-coloring seals the grout pores for easier, more
effective, home cleaning. Choose from our wide selection of grout color seal options
to get a grout color seal option that is best for your tile and décor. Grout re-coloring
can give your tile and room a whole new look without the costly expense of replacing
your tile. Besides, chances are, the tile isn’t even the problem. Call Sears Tile
& Grout cleaning and re-coloring professionals to learn more about giving your
tiled floors a makeover you can’t even imagine.

Posted on January 14, 2013

The Difference Between Interim & Deep Down Carpet Cleaning —
What You Need To Know

The long lasting beauty of your carpet depends in most part on your carpet cleaning
methods. There are two phases of carpet cleaning –Interim carpet cleaning and deep
down carpet cleaning.

Interim carpet cleaning consists of thoroughly vacuuming the carpet at least once
a week-especially in high traffic areas. And spot cleaning the carpet as soon as
possible after a spill occurs. It is best to use a clean white cloth along with
a residential carpet spot removal product such as Sears Professional Spot Remover.

Deep down carpet cleaning means using a professional carpet cleaning company like
Sears Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning to remove the embedded dirt and grime that
accumulates with traffic over time. Most carpet manufacturers recommend the hot
water extraction (steam Cleaning) method of carpet cleaning be used at least once
every 12 to 24 months. Hot water extraction or Steam carpet cleaning may also be
required by the carpet manufacturers to maintain the carpet warranty.

The carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) has a Seal of Approval program which identifies
carpet cleaning products, processes and companies that remove the most amount of
dirt from carpet. Sears Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning has earned the Platinum
Seal of Approval which is the highest possible CRI rating.

Sears Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning not only uses the hot water extraction, or
steam cleaning, carpet cleaning process but also performs a second step. Using a
PH balancing rinse to leave the carpet soft to the touch and helping it to stay
cleaner longer (that’s because there is no residue left in the carpet to attract
dirt).

So, proper interim carpet cleaning coupled with a periodic professional carpet cleaning
from Sears Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning can prolong the life and beauty of your
carpeting.

Posted on November 2, 2012

Sears Keeps Your Carpet Cleaner Longer — Guaranteed

When choosing your Carpet Cleaning & Upholstery Cleaning provider we know you have
lots of things to consider. Typically, our carpet & upholstery cleaning customers
are seeking convenient appointments, professional technicians, and getting the best
results attainable. And the Sears Blue Crew is happy to deliver!

But how do you know you are getting the best results? What sets Sears Carpet &
Upholstery Cleaning methods apart from the rest? Sears two-step, hot water extraction
process, and our specially formulated cleaning solutions and fiber rinse are unlike
most other carpet & upholstery cleaners. Some other carpet and upholstery cleaning
companies offer carpet shampooing, dry cleaning, or carbonated/ "bonnet cleaning",
methods. These methods have proven to leave behind dirt, dander, and even cleaning
shampoo residue. When cleaning shampoo residue is left behind, it can act as a magnet
to dirt and your carpet & upholstery can get dirty faster. Additionally, these
methods have been recognized as more of a "topical" cleaning as they are
only able to temporarily remove dirt from the carpet and upholstery surface. They
are not considered "deep-cleaning" methods.

Like Sears, most carpet cleaning & upholstery cleaning companies today perform
a warm/hot water extraction process or "steam cleaning" process. With
the steam cleaning process, warm/hot water is used to loosen dirt embedded deep
in the carpet fibers then it is quickly extracted with powerful vacuum equipment.
Typically the dirt is then run through hoses out of the house to the truck mounted
cleaning unit. Sears Carpet & Upholstery cleaning takes this cleaning process
to the next level by adding a separate pH balance fiber rinse. Our second step,
the Fiber Rinse, ensures that we have removed the most dirt and cleaning solution
(residue) from your carpet so it will be soft, fresh and stay cleaner longer. Our
carpet cleaning process is not only the process recommended by America’s largest
carpet manufacturer, but the Sears 2-step deep cleaning process was also tested
by the Carpet & Rug Institute and awarded the Platinum Seal of Approval for removing
the most dirt from carpet. The Platinum Seal is the highest possible level of achievement.
Below you will find an excerpt from The Carpet & Rug Institute that describes the
stringent requirements to be awarded with the Platinum Seal of Approval.

Testing Criteria

Soil removal – CRI uses NASA-enhanced x-ray fluorescence technology to measure
the precise amount of soil removed from the carpet, and soil removal efficiency
is rated on four levels. Extractors that exceed average soil removal levels receive
a Bronze Seal rating. Those achieving higher levels of soil removal receive a Silver
or Gold rating. Extractors that remove the highest level of soil earn the CRI Platinum
Seal of Approval.

Water removal – The extractor or system must remove most of the moisture resulting
from a wet cleaning process. Dirty water that remains in the carpet could be a source
of fungal growth and could prolong the drying process.

Fiber surface retention – The product must not harm the carpet pile.

If a system is being tested, additional test criteria are included and mirror those
from the Cleaning Solutions protocol. These include:

Rate of resoiling – This ensures that the product does not attract dirt to
the cleaned areas faster than the rest of the carpet.

pH – A more neutral pH ensures that carpet dyes and fibers are not adversely
affected.

Optical brighteners – None is allowed, as optical brighteners can leave some
patches of carpet lighter than the rest.

Colorfastness – Products must not be so aggressive that they cause a color
change in the carpet.

You’d Be Surprised What’s Lurking In Your Home’s Air Duct System

According to the National Air Duct Cleaner’s Association (NADCA), a typical
six-room home creates over 40 pounds of dust annually through everyday living. In
addition, the typical family generates a great deal of contaminants and air pollutants
such as dander, dirt and chemicals. These contaminants are pulled into the HVAC
system and re-circulated 50 to 70 times per day on average. Over time, this re-circulation
can cause a build-up of contaminants in the air duct work.

There are a few things that the EPA recommends you do to keep your air duct system
clean and free of contaminants:

Use a highest efficiency air filter

Change filters regularly

If your filters become clogged, change them more frequently

Be sure you do not have any missing filters and that air cannot bypass filters through
gaps around the filter holder

Have your air coils and drained pans cleaned

During construction or renovation work that produces dust in your home, seal off
supply and return registers and do not operate the heating and cooling system until
after cleaning up the dust

Remove dust and vacuum your home regularly. (Use a high efficiency vacuum (HEPA)
cleaner or the highest efficiency filter bags your vacuum cleaner can take. Vacuuming
can increase the amount of dust in the air during and after vacuuming as well as
in your ducts)

If your heating system includes in-duct humidification equipment, be sure to operate
and maintain the humidifier strictly as recommended by the manufacturer

Your home would be a candidate for Sears Air Duct Cleaning if:

You can visibly see built up dirt, dust or dander in your ducts or have never had
them cleaned

a build-up of dirt at the registers

particulates / dust blowing out of your vents

unusual odors

a unit that runs longer than it used to

a coil that ices up

pets

smoking in the home

family members that suffer from indoor allergies

recently remodeled your home

Sears Indoor Air Quality & Air Duct Cleaning professionals are trained to thoroughly
and correctly perform air duct cleaning as per the NADCA guidelines. Sears Air Duct
Cleaning professionals will not clean partial systems. The EPA warns consumers not
to hire air duct cleaning professionals who only partially clean the system. Air
Duct Cleaning of only part of the system could result in the loss of the benefit
of air duct cleaning as dust, debris, and dirt that is left behind will continue
to circulate and re-contaminate your home’s air ducts. Sears Indoor Air Quality
Specialists also offer HVAC system filters. Ask the Sears Air Duct Cleaning technician
about our filter replacement program where you get several filters and an email
reminder when it is time to change or clean your air filter. We also offer air cleaners,
and air purification products, to help improve the indoor air quality in your home.
Ask your Sears Indoor Air Quality Specialists what products would best fit your
needs and the needs of your home or visit Sears Air Duct Cleaning to read more or view
air duct cleaning pictures and videos.

Carpet & Rug Institute — Carpet Cleaning Seal of Approval Program

The Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI) is a not for profit trade association that
represents the manufacturers of over 95% of the carpet made in the United States.

The CRI realizes that proper carpet cleaning is an integral factor in how long a
carpet lasts and how well consumers enjoy their carpet. So, the CRI decided to scientifically
test carpet cleaning products and carpet cleaning processes and then to rate them
on how much dirt was removed from the carpet. In essence, this rating system helps
consumers understand which products and processes clean carpet the best.

Their testing and rating system is called the CRI Seal of Approval Program. While
some carpet cleaning products/processes do not pass, there are four (4) levels of
approval based upon the percent of soil removed from carpeting:

90% to 100% Removal = SOA Platinum

80% to 89% Removal = SOA Gold

70% to 79% Removal = SOA Sliver

55% to 69% Removal = SOA Bronze

Sears Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning was one of the first companies to receive the
Platinum Seal of Approval for a deep-cleaning system. The carpet cleaning "system"
is the combination of the carpet cleaning machine and a particular carpet cleaning
solution, following a set procedure.

There are stringent cleaning standards that must be met in the following categories
to receive the Seal of Approval awards:

Soil removal

Water removal

Texture retention

Other rating criteria that must be met are:

Rate of re-soiling (How quickly carpet becomes dirty again)

pH balancing (Neutralization of carpet after cleaning)

No optical brighteners (additives to detergent that make carpets "appear"
clean)

Color fastness (Does not alter color of carpet or fabric)

Posted on August 8, 2012

Blogs and News

Spring Cleaning Tips - Part 3

Family discussions, laughter, works of culinary art, grease splatters, dust bunnies,
spills, and many other things happen in your kitchen and dining areas. Some of those
things are memories to keep, but tough and embarrassing
stains are not to be cherished... (more)